Pressure relief valve



March M, 1956) E. A. WILHELM PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE Filed Nov. 6, 1943 Patented Mar. 14, 1956 PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE EdwardA. Wilhelm,.St. Paul, Minn", assignor to Waterous Company, St. Paul,- Minn, a corporation-of Minnesota Application November 6, 1943; SerialNo. 509;243

4 Claims.

My invention relates to an improvement in pressure relief valves, wherein it is desired to provide a valve-constructionwhich may be used toautomatica-lly relieve an excess of pressure.

In pumping systems; conditions sometimes arise wherein the outlet line of" the pump is stopped-atleast temporarily, the pump then creating a tremendouspressure in the outlet line. In order to alleviate'an otherwise dangerous con dition, a relief valve is: ordinarily employed operable under abnormal pressure to by-passfluid from the pump outlet back to the pump inlet-or to the exhaust. Inorder to function properly under various conditionsit is desirable to have therelief valve operable at a predetermined pressure which is variable. Under some conditions it maybe found desirable toby-pass fluid whena-relatively low abnormal pressure is experienced; Under other conditions, such as when thebackpressure on the pump is relatively high, it is desirable to have 'the'valve'; operate at a rel, atively high abnormal pressure;

sides in the provision of a sealing means for definitely sealing the valve casing, should leakage through. the pressure relief portion of. the

valve mechanism take place. The spring chamber of the 1 pressure relief valvemechanism is or.- dinarily sealed'from contact with-fiuid'.. However, should this seal be broken for any reason; and permit leakage tooccur into this spring chamber the sole exhaust opening fromthis spring chams ber may be effectively sealed;

A further feature of thepresent invention lies in the provision of a pressure relief valve. which" incorporates 1 a valve: normally closed: by fluid pressure-andaspringiclosed member. When the. spring closed member is. opened due'toan ab- 60- Means: must: therefore: be provided for: adjusting this" release.

normal: pressure, the fluid: pressure on opposite sides of the fluid actuatedvalve. becomes unbal- These and other objects: and. novel. features of'myinvention will be moreclearly'andfully set forth inz-the followingspecification and claims; t In the drawings forming apart of my specifica ion:

Figure l is atop plan view of the-valve::show ing my new construction.

Figure 2Jis avertical section'centrallythrough the valve illustrated' in Figure l.

The valveA comprisesa valve :body or casing l 0. having: an inlet passage H thereto: and anoutlet passage: 12: therefrom. The inlet passage H is preferably connected to the: discharge. of: aafluid pressure device, such as a fluid pressure. pump. The outlet 12 :may be. connected to the inlet of the andloutlet passages H and I2, respectively.

The valve-body I0 is provided witha cylinder l llwhichis concentric with-the inlet H; A piston 15 is slidable within the cylinder 14. The piston |5is provided with ansintegral threaded sleevelG. to which is threaded a packing nut i1 The-packing nut l I clamps the 'angularly. shaped packing orgasket ill-between the nut I-l-and the piston 15-. The packing-: or gasket IQlSifllIElIlgl-Ed to form. a

seal against the cylindricalwalls and is formed of any suitablemateriaLsuch as leather.

A-..sleeve' 2ll=isintegral with the piston l5 and extends downwardly therefrom. ThesleeveZllis provided with: a closed end 26 externally providedwith a.taperedvalve portion 22. The body lfi is'providedat the mouth of the inlet H with. a valveseat ZBengageable-withthe tapered valveportion 22. to formaclosure for fluid in. the

inlet 1 l.

A cylinder end: plate. 24' issecuredby suitablev means, such as the bolts 25; to the circular. flange 26 at the top of the cylinder [4. This end closure:

plate 2-4 isaprovided with-aniaxial aperture therethrough whichis internally threaded at 21. A-

valvestem guide bushingifi-is-provided withexaternalthreads'forengagement with the threads 3 2'l'of the end plate 24. This bushing 29 acts as a guide for the valve stem 30 which may move vertically therethrough.

The, valve stem 3|) is provided with threads 3| thereupon which engage internal threads on the interior of the bushing 29. The upper end of the valve stem 30 extends through a packing gland 32 equipped with a suitable packing nut 33, and the stem 35 may be actuated by the handle or operating disk 34 secured to the upper end of the stem.

The valve stem 35 is provided with an extension 35 extending substantially beyond the threads 3|. This extension is arranged to engage against the lower extremity '2! of the piston when it is desired to manually hold the valve portion 22 of the piston against its valve seat 23. Obviously, when the valve stem 38 is rotated until the extension 35 engages the lower closing and of the piston l5, this piston will be unaffected by any increase in pressure. A spring 36 encircles the valve stem extension 35 and impinges against the lower closed end 2| of the piston 25 so'as to normally urge this piston l5 into valve closing position-with the valve portion 22 in engagement with its seat 23.

, In order to guide the piston I5, I provide a sleeve 3'1 integral with and depending from the bushing 29, and slidable within the hollow cylindrical inner surface 39 of the piston |5. Apertures 40 at the upper extremity of this sleeve 3'! are provided to communicate fluid pressure to the end of the piston l5 opposite the closed end 2|. The relatively small aperture 4| is provided in the closed end 2! of the piston, and this aperture 4| is protected by a perforated enclosure 42 from the direct action or velocity pressure of fluid entering the inlet 1 As illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings, the inlet extendsinto the valve body from the lower end of the body. The outlet l2 extends at substantially right angles to the inlet H and then turns parallel to the inlet These details of construction, while advantageous in certain respects, are not essential construction.

On the surface of the valve body l5 opposite the surface containing the inlet and outlet, I provide a substantially hollow parallel cylindrical enclosure 43 which is provided with an attachment flange 44 at one end thereof designed to be bolted by cap screws 45, or the like, to the valve body ID. A cylindrical recess 46 of slightly larger diameter than the diameter of the bore 41 of the hollow cylindrical enclosure 43 accommodates a vertically movable disk 49 provided with an upwardly extending boss 53. A diaphragm 5| clamped between the flange 44 and the body Ill is secured to the disc 49 by means of ahollow cap screw 52. The head of the cap screw 52 is on one side of the diaphragm 5|, while the disk 49 lies on the other side thereof, and the cap screw extends through the diaphragm and is threaded into the disk. A pointed pin 53 is mounted in the hollow cap screw 52 and acts to support a pressure plate 54. The pressure plate 54 is urged against the pin 53 by means of a spring 55 which extends between the pressure plate 54 and a second pressure plate 55. The position of the pressure plate 56 is adjusted by means of a threaded shank5'i which extends through the internally threaded boss 59 on the top of the cylindrical enclosure '43.

The shank 57! is rotated by means of a double ended arm 60 secured to the shank 5T intermediate' its ends by any suitable means, such as by the nut 6|. A locking lever 62 is pivotally 4 mounted at 63 to the arm 60, and this locking lever is urged into engagement with any one of a series of angularly spaced notches 64 in a cylindrical flange 55. A locking lever 62 is urged into engagement with a selected notch by means of a flat spring 65 secured to the lever or arm 60.

A gasket or sealing washer of packing material 5? is recessed into the lower surface of the hub 69 of the locking arm or lever 60. This packing or gasket is arranged to seat against the upper extremity of the boss 59 when the arm 6|) has threaded the shank 51 into its lowermost position. As a result should any leakage occur to permit fluid to enter the enclosure 43, this enclosure may be definitely sealed by threading the shank 51 downwardly until the washer or packing 61 ender Hi above the piston l5.

gages the upper end of the boss 59. This provision is essentially an emergency provision to be used in case the diaphragm 5|, or some other portion of the spring apparatus becomes injured. An axial recess 10 is provided in the valve body I5 coaxial with the enclosure 43. The cap screw 52 is provided with an extension "H arranged to fit into the axial bore 10. The lower extremity of this extension H is provided with a tapered valve portion 12 arranged to seat against a tapered seat 13 in the valve body.

, In order to prevent leakage about the slidable extension or valve rod ii, I provide a packing ring T4 at the base of a relatively large diameter aperture 75 beneath the diaphragm 5| and coaxial with the bore Iii. A-packing nut 16 is provided in this aperture to hold the packing ring 14 in place. The valve rod or extension H slides through this packing ring in its operation. A circular groove ll encircles the valve stem 1| above the tapered portion 12 thereof, andthis groove is connected by a right angular passage 19 to a groove in the lower surface of the valve body it communicating with the outlet l2. Below the valve seat 13 a passage 8| communicates with an inclined passage 82 through the valve body so that the lower end of the valve rod H is subjected to the same pressure as the interior of the cylin- The passage 8| islarger than the port 4| so that fluid pressure above piston l5 may be relieved more qdickly than it can be built up when the valve rod H is open. The operation of my valve is relatively. simple. The inlet H is connected with a source of fluid pressure and the outlet I2 is connected either to the exhaust or to the inlet of the fluid pressure creating apparatus. The arm 55 is adjusted to provide the proper tension upon the spring 55 and c this arm 55 is locked in set position by means of the locking lever 62 for its engagement into one of the notches 64 in the flange 55. The pressure at which the valve will open is regulated by the pressure of the spring 55, and as the spring 55. is compressed more pressure is required to operate the valve.

Fluid pressure from the source of supply passes through the perforated enclosure 42, throughthe axial passage 4|, and into the hollow interior'of the piston 15p This fluid pressure is communicated in the ring-shaped space between the extension 35 and the sleeve 57, or in the space partially occupied bythe spring 36; At the upper end of the sleeve 31 the fluid pres-- sure may flow through the passages14|l and into the upper end of .the cylinder J4 abovegthepiston |5.:-, 1' The piston 15 is urged into. closed position bythe spring 36, while pressure from beneath;this; piston against the closed end 2| thereof tends assua e 5. to raise the piston. After such fluid pressure passed through the interior of the-piston I to the space above the piston, the pressure on opposite ends of the piston will be equalized. However, because of the larger area above the piston, this fluid pressurewill force the valve piston l5 into closed position seating the tapered valve surface 22 against its seat 23.

Fluid pressure is also transmitted through the passages 82 and 8i to the lower extremity of the valve rod or extension II. However, as the-tapered valve surface '32 thereof is in contact with its tapered seat 13, this pressure is trapped from communicating further and the valve rod II is elevated.

A passage as communicates with the inlet II and also communicates with a second passage 84 extending upwardly through the body of the valve. The upper extremity of the passage 84 is communicated through a transverse passage 85 to the space immediately below the diaphragm 5|. Thus the downward pressure of the spring 55 is opposed by fluid pressure in the area beneath the diaphragm 5|, which tends to compress the spring 55.

When an abnormal fluid pressure is experienced in the inlet I I, this pressure will be communicated to the area beneath the diaphragm 5|, which pressure will be sulncient to contract the spring 55 and to elevate the valve rod II. As a result of this action fluid pressure may flow from above the piston i5 through the passages 82 and BI to the groove I1 which communicates with exhaust pressure through the passage I9. Therefore the fluid pressure above the piston I5 is released upon raising of the valve rod 7 I, and the forces acting upon the piston l5 are unequalized in the opposite direction. The pressure against the closed end 2! thereof is greater than the exhaust pressure in the chamber above the piston I5. As a result the piston I5 is free to rise against the compression of the spring 36, permitting some of the fluid from the intake I I to flow into the outlet l2.

If the piston I5 is to be held closed so as to render the regulating mechanism inactive, the shank 30 may be screwed down until the extension 35 contacts the inner surface of the closed lower end 2i, thus holding the valve in closed position.

If the diaphragm 5| should become ruptured, allowing a leakage of fluid into the enclosure 43, the only path of escape for this fluid is about the screw threads 51. Accordingly leakage may be avoided by rotating the arm 63 until the packing washer 6! engages the upper surface of the boss 59, thus sealing any possible leak in the case of emergency.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my valve, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A valve comprising a valve body having an inlet and an outlet, a cylinder above said inlet and outlet, a valve member reciprocably mounted in said valve body and engageable in said inlet to normally close the same, said valve member having an end forming a piston in said cylinder, a hollow socket in said valve member, a tubular valve guide slidably engaging in said socket, said valve guide limiting the opening movement of said valve member, a reciprocable valve stem within said valve guide engageable with said valve member to manually hold said valve member in closed position, said valve stem projecting from said valve body, said valve mem; ber having small pressure equalizing passages therethrough and an operating member on the projecting portion of said stem. I

2. A valve comprising a valve body having an inlet and an outlet, a cylinder above said inlet and outlet, a valve member reciprocably mounted in said valve body and engageable in said inlet to normally close the same, said valve member having an end forming a piston in said cylinder, ahollow socket in said valve member, a tubular valve guide slidably engaging in said socket, said valve guide limiting the opening movement of said valve member, a reciprocable valve stem within said valve guide engageable with said valve member to manually hold said valve member in closed position, said valve stem projecting from said valve body, an operating member on the projecting portion of said stem, said valve member having small pressure equalizing passages therethrough and spring means between said valve stem and said valve guide urging said valve member normally closed. 3. A valve comprising a valve body having an an inlet and an outlet, a cylinder above said inlet and outlet, a valve member reciprocably mounted in said valve body and engageable in said inlet to normally close the same, said valve member having an end forming a piston in said cylinder, a hollow socket in said valve member, a tubular valve guide slidably engaging in said socket, said valve guide limiting the opening movement of said valve member, a reciprocable valve stem within said valve guide engageable with said valve member to manually hold said valve member in closed position, said valve stem projecting from said valve body, said valve member having small pressure equalizing passages therethrough, an operating member on the projecting portion of said stem, means cooperable between said valve stem and said valve body to move said valve stem longitudinally upon rotation thereof, and packing means interposed between said valve stem and said valve body.

4. A valve comprising a valve body having an inlet and an outlet, a cylinder above said inlet and outlet, a valve member reciprocably mounted in said valve body and engageable in said inlet to normally close the same, said valve member having an end forming a piston in said cylinder, a hollow socket in said valve member, a sleeve extending into said socket to guide the same, said sleeve being threadably connected to said valve body, a reciprocable valve stem threadably engaged in said sleeve, an end of said valve stem being engageable with said valve member to manually hold said valve member in closed position, said valve stem projecting from said valve body, said valve member having small pressure equalizing passages therethrough an operating member on the projecting portion of said stem, and spring means interposed between said valve stem and said sleeve to urge said valve into closed position.

EDWARD A. WILHELM.

(References on following page) 7 REFERENCES 01mm The fdiiowing references are of record in the Number file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Curtis Aug. 17, 1880 Mayer Mar. 5, 1889 Osmer Mar. 25, 1902 Frishmuth Oct. 8, 1907 Schutte Oct. 29, 1907 Hough June 30, 1914 Grabill Dec. 29, 1916 Number Number 

